On the bench since his departure from WWL-Channel 4 last year, Lee Zurik will join the WVUE-Channel 8 air staff as an anchor of the station's 9 p.m. and new 10 p.m. weeknight newscasts on May 5.

Steven Forster/The Times-Picayune archiveLee Zurik.

Zurik joins John Snell and Nancy Parker at 9 p.m. and Kim Holden, shifted from the station's early morning newscasts, at 10 p.m.

Zurik has been kept off the air by a non-compete clause in his WWL-TV contract, but has been working behind the scenes since joining WVUE's staff.

"Having Lee join John and Nancy at 9 and anchor the 10 p.m. shows the commitment we're giving to our late-night news, and how important that entire hour-and-a-half block is," said Mikel Schaefer, WVUE's news director.

Zurik, who won the prestigious George F. Peabody Award last year for an investigation of the New Orleans Affordable Housing program, will also contribute reporting to WVUE newscasts.